Mekoros Research Center Information

Contents

• Need for organized Torah source material

• Jewish Interactive Studies Resources
  • JIS Online Courses
  • JIS Correspondence Database
  • JIS Mekoros (Torah Sources) Database
  • Categorizing Torah machshavah (Torah philosophy) books
• Jewish Interactive Studies Mekoros (Torah Sources) Research Center
• Contact Information

Need for organized Torah source material

There is a need for organized Torah source material in the area of Jewish machshavah (Torah philosophy). Improved access to Torah sources will enhance Jewish educators' (rabbis, and school and outreach educators) preparation of lectures, delivery of presentations, and ability to respond to student inquiries.

Several challenges to acquiring Torah knowledge exist:

• Torah Breadth: The volume of Torah source material makes finding and organizing Torah knowledge a formidable challenge. Torah topics are intertwined, requiring familiarity with multiple topics and their interrelationships.
• Confusing Resources: Many Torah writings are either not structured topically (e.g., Commentaries to Torah texts) or their structure requires effort to discern. This includes scattered discussions of Torah topics (e.g., Deroshos HaRan and Kuzari review and refine their discussions throughout the books). Several basic books were composed in Arabic and their Hebrew translations are difficult to comprehend (e.g., Emunos VeDayos, Moreh Nevuchim, Kuzari).
• Availability: Resource books may be unknown or unavailable to educators.
• Time Constraints: Acquiring broad knowledge is an immense effort. Educators, particularly after assuming additional responsibilities (e.g. administrative, counseling, fundraising), often find themselves too busy to research topics, and rely upon condensed and secondary presentations that often lack the context and clarity of studying original sources.
• Organizing Presentations: Careful planning is required to create clear and content presentations that match audience educational and comprehension levels and needs. This includes producing effective audience handout materials.

Jewish Interactive Studies Resources

For over 20 years, Rabbi Moshe Zauderer has been collecting and organizing Torah source materials. This research has been the basis for lectures and teacher-student communications for over a decade, initially at Jerusalem's Ohr Somayach Institution and, since 1998, in directing Jewish Interactive Studies (JIS).

JIS Online Courses

Since 1998, JIS has offered seventeen online text-based and audio courses to over 3,300 adults. All JIS courses are based upon English renditions of Torah sources.

The courses are divided into six series:

• Bible Series: five courses that explore themes and practical lessons from Torah narratives and mitzvoth
• Foundations of Judaism series: five courses offering a structured approach for understanding principles of Jewish belief
• Holiday Handbook series: three courses presenting an in-depth study of Jewish holidays
• Jewish ethics series: two courses on selected topics of Jewish ethical behavior
• Prayers series: one course that delves into the meaning of prayer and blessings
• Masters of Judaism: one course on Rabbi Sa'adiah Gaon's Emunos VeDayos / Beliefs and Opinions, the first systematic presentation of machshavah (Torah philosophy)

JIS Course syllabi can be viewed at JIS' website: www.jewishstudies.org

JIS Correspondence Database

JIS has developed a database containing nine years (to date) of email correspondence between JIS educational staff and a worldwide student body. To date, over 1,350 entries have been entered. Entries are categorized by topic and their subtopics for easy identification and retrieval.

Examples of topics and their subtopics are:

• Contemporary Issues > Disputes among Jews
• Feelings > Religious feelings need proper channeling
• Jewish education > Key to survival
• Providence > Revealed through miracles
• People types > Gentiles > Noahide Laws > Logical basis
• Torah > No new Torah

JIS Mekoros (Torah Sources) Database

In the past year, JIS created a database of original sources on machshavah (Torah philosophy) topics. To date, over 1,300 entries have been made. Entries are categorized from general topics to several levels of subtopics, allowing for easy identification and retrieval.

Examples of entries of topics and their subtopics are:

• Good & Evil > Character Traits > Anger > Destructiveness
• Providence > Historical periods > Galus > äñúø ôðéí
• Man > Makeup & Nature > Soul > âìâåì ðùîåú > Cause of innocent suffering
• People types > Gentiles > Noahide Laws > Logical basis
• Good & Evil > Free Will > Obstacles > Innate tendencies
• Free will > Divine foreknowledge > Avsholom's rebellion

Categorizing Torah machshavah (Torah philosophy) books

For over a decade, Rabbi Zauderer has been methodologically outlining and categorizing classical Torah machshavah (Torah philosophy) books.

The following books are at various stages of organization:

• Emunos VeDayos/Beliefs and Opinions, by Rabbi Sa'adiah Gaon (10^th century)
• The Kuzari by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi (12^th century)
• Pirkei Avos/Ethics of the Fathers, with the commentary of Rabbi Yonah (13^th century)
• Ramban Torah commentary, by Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (13^th century)
• Sefer HaChinuch/The Book of Education (14^th century)
• Deroshos HaRan/Rabbi Nissim's Lectures, by Rabbi Nissim ben Reuven (14^th century)
• Rabbeinu Bachyai Torah commentary, by Rabbi Bachyai ben Asher (14^th century)
• Seforno Torah commentary, by Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno (16^th century)
• Bais Elokim/The House of G*d, by Rabbi Moshe Trani (16^th century)
• Derech Hashem/The Way of G*d, by Rabbi Moshe Luzatto (18^th century)

Additional books will be outlined and categorized.

Jewish Interactive Studies Mekoros (Torah Sources) Research Center

Jewish Interactive Studies will continue to add source material to its Mekoros database, and begin producing topic booklet format presentations in Elul/September 2006. The Center will be available for educators as an online resource and in published booklets.

Mekoros Center productions will feature:

• Structured presentations that contain outlines, schematic diagrams, and indexes of the source material
• Summary of opinions, and identifying points of agreement, dispute, and uncertainty among sources
• Source excerpts (in Hebrew) and their summaries (in English), as well as the complete Hebrew text of sources
• Bibliography of sources

Contact Information